


They Were Roommates

by sobachka



Series: Zoyalai Works [4]
Category: Nikolai Series - Leigh Bardugo, The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Modern AU, Roommates, bc why not, jealous!nikolai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:20:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26628922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sobachka/pseuds/sobachka
Summary: oh my god they were roommatesThere's a gala coming up and Zoya can't pick a date, the fact that she has a list of options definitely doesn't bother her roommate Nikolai.
Relationships: Nikolai Lantsov/Zoya Nazyalensky
Series: Zoyalai Works [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1789732
Comments: 9
Kudos: 43





	They Were Roommates

**Author's Note:**

> @atbakerstreet asked: "Okay, so, ummm, Zoyalai + 3 (I’m a sucker for angst, okay??)"  
> prompt: "please don't walk out of that door"

"Too tall."

"Now you're just making excuses."

"No man should be above six and a half feet, Gen, and I'm not wearing heels to make up for it."

The sound of Genya's heavy sigh crackled a bit through her phone's speaker. Zoya couldn't help a guilty smile. They'd been on the phone for at least half an hour, going through the terribly long list of date options Zoya had for the gala next week.

Quite a number of men and women had asked her, but Zoya found they were all…  _ inadequate _ .

A scoff came from the kitchen, where her roommate Nikolai had spent the entire phone call supposedly making pasta. Mostly though, he was offering snide comments about Zoya's list. All of which she ignored.

"Who's next?" Genya asked, sounding bored. When they'd decided to help each other pick dates, the other girl had likely not anticipated that most of that time would go to Zoya's excuses rather than fawning over David, who had finally grown some balls and asked Genya to go with him.

"Malyen Oretsev," Zoya stated, reading the name out from her notes app.

"Isn't that-" Genya began, but a loud clang interrupted her.

Zoya sat up, looking over the sofas edge to find her roommate's pasta bowl had dropped, the plastic cracking where it hit the tile, fresh noodles falling freely 

She shot him an amused look, but Nikolai only glanced away, running a frustrated hand through his hair.

Deciding this wasn't her problem, Zoya lay back on the couch, playing with a strand of her hair. 

"Mal's cute," she said after a moment. A drawer slammed shut noisily from the kitchen.

Zoya sighed, sitting up. "Hey, Gen, can I call you back? And yes, I promise I'll decide tonight."

The other girl ended the call with a grateful sigh, and Zoya was left glaring at her roommate.

Nikolai met her gaze, and said nothing, crouching down and returning his attention to the fallen pasta.

Zoya let loose a frustrated breath, swinging her legs over the sofa and crossing over to the kitchen.

She glared at Nikolai's bent head, the golden locks tumbling down as he focused all his energy on sweeping up his would-be dinner.

He didn't glance up.

Instead, Nikolai reached for a few loose pieces of pasta, prompting Zoya to step in front of it, blocking his way with her bare foot.

"What's your problem, Lantsov?" she snapped at him. He only sighed, abandoning his efforts and standing up with the little he'd gathered in a plate.

He met her sharp glare with a cool gaze of his own, hazel eyes guarded.

"No problem at all." He said.

Zoya rolled her eyes, but he only turned away from her, dumping the remnants of his plate and pasta into the garbage bin.

"Nikolai, look at me," she said. He didn't.

She moved to block his path just as he turned toward the sink, forcing him to meet her gaze.

"What do you want, Zoya?" he said with a weary sigh. She frowned at him. They were friends. Roommates. They studied together and binged cheesy movies over the weekends, and they didn't lie to each other.

So what on earth was Nikolai's problem?

"I want to know why you seem to have an issue with every decent name I've listed out to Genya." She said, crossing her arms and meeting his bright, hazel eyes. 

" _ Oretsev _ is decent?" He asked, brows shooting up, then snorted before she could respond.

"Mal is a fine choice- or Kirigin for that matter, even if you claim he's a snob-"

"He  _ is _ -"

"-it really isn't your decision to make!" she snapped, voice raising. They'd never argued like this. Nikolai never reacted this way, not when they drank and talked about old lovers, not when she brought men back to her room or came home late, some nights not at all.

They were just friends.

"You know what," said Nikolai, matching her anger, "you're right. It doesn't matter to me. Go with Oretsev, have a blast! I won't stand in your way."

He turned to stomp away from her, but Zoya wasn't having it. She sidestepped, blocking his path again, this time he was only a few inches away, his heavy breaths caressing her cheek.

"Why  _ do _ you care?" she asked, tipping her head to look up at him. From this angle, the way his hair fell into his eyes was almost picturesque. His hazel eyes darkened, but he didn't move away. 

The way he was watching her made her heart pick up speed. It was a look reserved for someone else, perhaps one of those girls he was so fond of having over.

"I don't," he breathed, his breaths grazing her jaw.

His eyes flicked over her face, and for a second Zoya thought he might reach for her. But then the trance was broken, and he pulled back, looking away. He still didn't leave.

Nikolai ran a hand through his hair, mussing it further and making it oddly distracting. He let out a humorless laugh.

"For someone so good at breaking hearts, Zo, you sure are blind," he said.

She blinked. "What?"

He leaned back against the counter. When he met her eyes this time, he looked more tired than angry, like the fight had already gone out of him.

" _ Zoya _ ." he said, as if that was a reply in and of itself. When she said nothing, he sighed. "I haven't asked anyone to the gala, Zo. I was hoping you would go with me. Not as a friend- as a date."

She shook her head, disbelievingly. How many times had Genya made comments about Nikolai? But Zoya had not expected this, especially not now. It had been two years of their steady friendship, being roommates, as they became less and less awkward and easily irritated by each other over time. She tried to think back to the last time he'd brought anyone home, and came up empty.

"Oh," she said finally.

"Yeah." Said Nikolai, running a hand through his hair self consciously.

"You really are an idiot." Zoya informed him. Nikolai blanched, looking up. 

"What?" He asked. She rolled her eyes at him.

"You want to know the difference between you and Oretsev, Nikolai? He actually  _ asked _ ."

He blinked, looking somewhat lost, and Zoya resisted the urge to reach out and smack him. Hard. Because maybe there was a reason all the options on her list weren’t good enough. Maybe there was a name missing.

She shook her head, making a beeline for the door- fresh air suddenly sounded  _ very  _ appealing. Nikolai caught her wrist, stopping her. When she looked back at him, his mood had shifted visibly, something akin to hope entering his eyes, brows drawing together.

“Don’t leave,” he said urgently, “please- don’t walk out of that door.”

Zoya stiffened, but didn’t pull away, her heart doing something strange in her chest.

“Something to say, Lantsov?” she asked, though her voice lacked the usual spite.

“Quite a few things, actually,” he replied, lips curling into that same self assured grin, “go with me, Zo- we both know that no dating rule was bull. Besides, I’m twice as handsome as Oretsev,”

“And four times as annoying,” she mumbled.

“You’re not saying no,” he pointed out, raising a cocky brow.

Zoya rolled her eyes, pulling away and crossing instead to her room. This was definitely a bad idea. A hundred and ten percent. They would probably regret this.

She stopped at the door to her room and glanced back at Nikolai, still standing in their small kitchen. 

“If you make me late, I will throttle you in your sleep.”

Zoya could hear his enthusiastic whoop even as the door shut behind her. And if she was smiling a little, well, that was her own business.

She dialed Genya immediately.


End file.
